Kemba Walker, Charlotte Bobcats: Young NBA players are expected to improve, but I wasn’t totally convinced that Walker was capable of his current level of performance at all, much less in Year 2. Where many saw a natural leader and a former college standout, I saw only a quick guard who would likely struggle with the size and speed of NBA defenders, and an offense-first player reliant on pull-up jumpers. To me, that seemed to be the résumé of a decent backup, but hardly the kind of description befitting a lead guard.

But Walker has redefined his NBA potential in my mind by improving in so many phases of the game so quickly, a development that can only be attributed to his willingness to work on better understanding this caliber of opponent and the nuances of the game in general. Many have praised Walker’s composure in years past, but the way he now approaches his role and his skill set are fundamentally more intelligent. His quickness is deployed with more control, his shot selection is far more measured and he’s already displaying an impressive ability to manipulate defenders in order to create offense. Walker seems likely to always skew toward the score-first mold, but that itself isn’t a demerit so much as a stylistic footnote; as long as the Bobcats account for Walker’s style of play in their team construction, his passing limitations needn’t hold back the development of their offense.

For some reason, Kemba reminds me of a young Iverson. Cool to see him on this list, as he has definitely improved this season. He's still got to work on his shot a little bit, but its improved leaps and bounds over last year. Last year he couldn't shoot a grape in the ocean.

For some reason, Kemba reminds me of a young Iverson. Cool to see him on this list, as he has definitely improved this season. He's still got to work on his shot a little bit, but its improved leaps and bounds over last year. Last year he couldn't shoot a grape in the ocean.

I totally agree with the iverson comparison, as long as he continues to improve kemba is going to be a scoring force. Team just needs a good big man in the post to elevate the team as a whole.